Exploring the wonderful world of conservation & communities

It’s often said that “conservation is about people.” However, it’s apparent that many conservation endeavors struggle to meaningfully include people, their rights, and their potential; a common result is that conservation has negative impacts on human well-being, misses out on opportunities to apply the skills and knowledge of local people, and fails in the long-term. It is ethical, but also practical, to truly incorporate local communities in conservation efforts.

Through my work, I evaluate this interface between conservation and communities, and hope to use this information to guide implementation of conservation projects. My main focus has been bycatch of marine megafauna in small-scale fisheries, but I am also more broadly interested in linking communities and conservation. Currently, I live in Myanmar, working for IUCN on the Community-Led Coastal Management of the Gulf of Mottama Project as well as some other initiatives, in addition to occasional consulting gigs. A key partner in this work is Point B Design + Training, with whom I am exploring ways to apply Design Thinking to conservation.